Seems Belinelli felt he got a bit of a raw deal in Toronto, much like he felt he got in Golden State.

"This is my fourth year in the league, and this is probably the first year I can feel I'm an NBA player for real," Belinelli told the Times-Picayune. "You know because the first two seasons, I didn't play a lot. Last year, I played until February. After the all-star break, I didn't play a lot. It was a little bit difficult for me. But at the same time, now, I'm motivated to play and be strong, never give up. For now I'm so happy. I've got this problem with my ankle, but it's not a big deal."

But Belinelli wasn't done. He didn't just want to beat the Raptors. He wanted to punish them.

'My mission'

"You want to win by 20," Belinelli said. "That's my mentality. I want to win every game. But maybe against this team, Warriors, or Toronto, what was my team in the past, to win by 30 or 20, you know, that would be really good for me. I want to play good. I want them to know they made a mistake because I didn't play.

"So that's my mission."

What Belinelli doesn't choose to recall is that when he got injured last season, Sonny Weems took the opportunity and ran with it.

"Honestly, it's beyond the players and the coaches," Raptors head coach Jay Triano said before the game. "If he has something against the organizations that's on him. When he came back after his injury he was a little bit behind and when you're behind you don't get to play a lot and it's tough to get that rhythm back."

Belinelli will get one more shot at his old team when they visit Toronto on March 1.

For the record, Belinelli did not have time to talk to the Sun when approached before the game.